04:50 PM EDT, 09/05/2025 (MT Newswires) -- US equity indexes were mixed this week as an almost guaranteed interest-rate cut this month helped limit the downside for the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite.

* The S&P 500 closed at 6,481.50 on Friday versus 6,460.26 a week ago. The Nasdaq Composite stood at 21,700.388 compared with 21,455.55 a week earlier. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended at 45,400.86, versus 45,544.88 at the end of last week.

* Communication services led sector gains this week, while energy emerged as the steepest decliner.

* Non-farm payrolls rose by 22,000 last month, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday, falling short of a 75,000 increase expected in a survey compiled by Bloomberg. Gains for July were revised up by 6,000 to 79,000, while June payrolls were adjusted downwards by 27,000 to show a 13,000 decrease, the BLS said.

* Following the jobs data, the odds of a 25-basis-point cut in interest rates in September stood at 90% late Friday, down from 99.6% earlier in the day, paving the way for a steeper, 50-basis-point cut, according to the CME FedWatch Tool. The probability of the bigger cut was 10% late Friday, versus zero a day ago.

* While still-elevated inflation remains a challenge, the Fed appears increasingly willing to adjust policy closer to neutral in an effort to achieve the delicate balance of stable prices and full employment, according to a Stifel note.

* "The Fed remains committed to - eventually - achieving price stability, but as the Committee has shown for years, policy makers are willing to - continue - to tolerate above-target price pressures to stave off more pronounced weakness in the economy," Stifel Chief Economist Lindsey Piegza said in the note.